Brassiere



June 7, 1949. R. MICHAELSON BnAssIEnE Filed A 21, 1948 INVENTORRoJe/mbfiaeb'an B j I M A'rrqRNEYs 2,472,606 BBASSIERE Rose MichaelsomNew York, N. Y. Application August 21, fess, Serial No. 45,482

2 Claims. 1 a

This invention relates to brassieres more particularly of the type foruse with low cut dresses.

Brassieres used with dresses having low cut neckllnes, generally knownas V-cut dresses, are frequently exposed to view in wear which detractsfrom the efiect of such neckline and is unaesthetic in appearane. Aconventional brassiere devoid of wires, bone or other stifieners whenused with a V-shaped gap in the center thereof between the breast cups,will generally not afford sumcient support for the bust and as thewearer moves about, the bust may slide out of the cup with resultantembarrassment and discomfort.

Where brassieres are used which conform to the contour of such V-cutdress and wire or bone is used to give the required support andstifiness to the adjacent lateral edges of the breast cups, thebrassiere will be relatively expensive and as the stiff wire or bone hasrelatively little flexibility if it is adequate to hold the bust inplace, the brassiere will be uncomfortable to wear and indeed may cutinto the flesh of the wearer.

It is accordingly among the objects of this invention to provide arelatively inexpensive brassiere of simple yet attractive appearance foruse with a low cut v-type neckline dress, which brassiere when worn withsuch a dress will be concealed from view, which is devoid of metal, boneor similar stifieners and which though it be of relatively flimsymaterial will securely hold the bust in place without strain ordiscomfort to the wearer.

According to the invention these objects are accomplished by thearrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described andparticularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of various possibleembodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l is a perspective view of the brassiere as worn with a low cutneckline dress,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the brasslere withparts broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear view of the brasssiere showing the V-shapedgap between the breast cups and;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on a larger scale taken along line d4of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the brasslere, which in the embodimentherein chosen to illustrate my invention is of the long line" type, hasa bandeau ii encompassing the body of the wearer and is closed at itsback in conventional manner (not shown).

The front of the brassire has a trverse mid 2 riff panel H to the upperedge IQ of which are stitched in side by side relation the lower edgesof the substantially square panels In each having a breast cupconformation is therein shaped by a vertical dart It to provide thenecessary fullness of material to accommodate the breast.

The adjacent lateral edges ll of the panels it are joined together as atis as by stitching for a short distance from the lower edge 20 thereofand flare outwardly from the upper end 19 of such joined portion is tothe upper edge of the breast cups to form a substantially V-shaped gapit between the panels Hi, the inverted apex of said gap being at 89;

Afiixed to the outer face of each of the panels at is a tensiontransmission member 22, aflixed along the adjacent edges of the cups,desirably of fabric as shown and preferably substantially in the shapeof a right angle triangle each having along leg i'i' aligned with thelateral edge of the panel it, extending from the upper end I!) of joinedportion is to the upper edge of the panel it and a short leg It alongsaid upper edge.

Preferably .a plurality of rows of stitching 25 pass through the tensiontransmission member 22 and the fabric of the panel ill, said stitchingextending substantially parallel to the hypotenuse 26 of saidtransmission member, more dependably to distribute the tension from theshoulder straps to and along the edges of the V-shaped gap between thebreasts. 1

Afised to the upper edge of each of the panels m respectively, is anarrow strip of fabric 2? one end 25 of which is positioned at the endof the short leg it of the tension member 22 adjacent the lateral edgell of the panel in and the other end 29 of which is positioned at theother end of said short leg. The strip 21 thus afixed forms a loopv 3|for attachment of the front end 32 of shoulder strap 33, the other end80 of which is secured as by stitching to the rear of the bandeau I I asis shown in Fig. 2. A buckle 35 connects the front end 32 of shoulderstrap 33 to permit adjustment of the length of said shoulder strap inaccordance with the size and shape of the body and the tension desiredon tension transmission member 22 and to distribute the tensionuniformly across the width of the upper edge of member 22 and thencealong the narrowed length of said member 22.

Desirably an extra thickness of fabric 35 is provided extending from thelower edge of the midrifi panel IE to a point slightly above the upperedge is thereof and is secured to the fabric of the breast cups by aline of stitching 36 which 3 substantially conforms to the roundedcontour of the under side of the bust.

In order that the midrifl panel shall fit snugly against the body, yetpermit contraction and expansion of the diaphragm as the user breathesand moves about, a substantially triangular gusset 31 of elasticmaterial is inserted between the oblique lateral edges 39 of the midriffpanel [2 at the lower edge thereof and the adjacent lateral edge 39 ofthe bandeau and thus forms part of the bandeau II as is clearly shown inFig. 2.

In use, with the bandeau fastened at the rear thereof, the lower edges41 or the breast cups 14 will be securely retained against the wearer'sbody and anchored against movement thereon by the midriff panel l2 whichis tightly pressed against the body.

With the shoulder straps l3 tightened they will exert tension on theupper edge of panel In and along the area of the latter covered by thetension transmission member 22. As this member and the fabric of thepanel 19 therebeneath lies on the chest of the user between the breastcups and the breasts therein and as the lower edges 41 of the breastcups are secured against movement, it is readily apparent that suchtension will cause member 22 and the fabric therebeneath tightly topress against the body, defining the V-shaped gap 2| between the lateraledges H and securely retaining the busts in their respective cups l4."

It is to be noted that the tension exerted by v the shoulder straps willbe transmitted to the portion of the chest between the busts and thetension exerted by the bandeau will be transmitted substantially solelyacross the diaphragm covered'by the midrifl panel l2. As a consequencethere is practically no strain whatever on the breast cups themselves inwhich the bust is contained and hence little if any pressure will beexerted against the breast proper, the cups merely acting as a hammockto sustain the breasts.

Although a long line type brassire is illustrativeiy shown,it is ofcourse to be understood that the midriif panel could be dispensed withand the tension transmission member could be used in conjunction with abrassiere having a narrow band.

Thus with the constructions above described a brassiere has beenprovided devoid of bone, wire or similar stiffeners, that may be usedwith V-cut neckline dresses, which will hold the busts securely in placewithout discomfort to the wearer and without exposure of any part of thebrassiere or danger of the bust slipping from the respective cups.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that allmatter contained inthe above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A brassiere comprising a pair of substantially square panels at thefront thereof, each having a breast cup conformation therein, saidpanels being positioned in side by side relation and having two adjacentlateral edges connected at the lower portion thereof and flaringoutwardly from said lower portion to the upper edge of each of saidpanels to form a substantially V- shaped gap between said adjacentlateral edges, a tension transmission member on each of said panelsbetween said breast cup conformations, said members being substantiallyin the shape of a right angle triangle having a long leg and a shortleg. said long legs being aligned with the respective lateral edges ofsaid panels extending from the inverted apex of said V-shaped gap to thetop edge of the respective panels, and said short legs being alignedwith the upper edges of the respective panels, a pair of shoulder strapssecured respectively at their rear ends to the back of said brassiere, aconnector p aflixed at each end to the upper edge of the respectivepanels with the ends of said loop aligned with the ends of the short legof said tension transmission member and means connecting the front endof said shoulder straps to said connector loops, whereby when saidbrassiere is worn the tension .from said shoulder strap will betransmitted through said tension transmission member securely to pressthe latter against the chest of the wearer between the breasts.

2. A long line brassire comprising a pair of panels at the front thereofeach having a breast cup conformation therein, said panelsbeingpositioned in side by side relation and having two adjacent lateraledges connected below the upper edges thereof and flaring outwardly fromsaid connected portion to the upper edge of each of said panels to forma substantially V-shaped gap between said adjacent lateral edges, anelongated tension transmission member on each of said panels betweensaid breast cup conformations,

said members each having a long side aligned with and secured along therespective lateral edges of said panels extending from the inverted apexof said V-shaped gap to the top edge of the respective panels, andaligned with and secured at their upper edges to the upper edge of therespective panels, a pair of shoulder straps secured respectively attheir rear ends to the back .member securely to press the latter againstthe chest of the wearer between the breasts.

ROSE MICHAEISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,202,058 Malnick May 28, 19402,246,826 Witkower June 24, 1941 2,454,154 Glick Nov. 16, 1948 2,456,552Whittner Dec. 14, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 495,600France July 5, 1919

